Rejected
by Zerodius
Summary: In a world doomed by Fate, a handful of souls struggle to survive and ultimately, reach freedom. However... things will soon prove themselves to be a little bit more complicated than this...
1. Prologue: A Newcomer

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**REJECTED**

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**PROLOGUE: A NEWCOMER**

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"This place is so beautiful! It's almost like a dream..." said a soft, caring feminine voice.

"Isn't it? It took me a long time to make that place..." replied a deep, manly voice.

"Really? You can build a castle within two days and then, it takes weeks to make a little garden?" asked the feminine voice, amused.

"Making castles is easy! They're just big pieces of metal strapped together. Making a garden require to build a harmony between all the lives I put here. Furthermore, for the beauty to rermain, a balance must be attained. It's complicated, you know!" said the deep voice.

"Well, if you say so!" said the feminine voice.

Then, I felt two pairs of eyes staring at me... altought my vision was all blurry and that I couldn't see what the two figures looked like, I never forgot the care, the love in their eyes...

BLAAAAM!!!

"Get up you lazy animal!" yelled a harsh, mean voice that was much different from the two I had heard before.

I felt a sharp pain in my side and I awoke. I was inside of a small dark, dank room. A creature about my size was kicking me in the side with all of his strenght. I tought that each time he struck, another bone would break...

I sighed and got up, grasping the place where the creature, a human I believe, had kicked me. It hurts so much... I just don't understand why the others say that they're weak... personally, I believe that they can give pretty strong kicks!... especially when it's to awaken someone!

"At last! Now, get ready you lazy bum! As you must already know, it's Pokeball testing today! Heh! No longer will we have to keep you in that stupid room anymore. I bet you must be thrilled! Hehehehe!" the human's laugh was so horribly wrong-sounding... in fact, I hated everything about that human.

Judging from what his appearance, he was a male human in his thirties. He was somewhat thin and had short but messy black hair. His brown eyes were as dull as his clothes and personality were. I heard others call him a "Defect Trainer".

Defect Trainer? A vastly unwanted job in the human society it seems. It seems that in human society, one's rank and reputation is determined by the number of slaves, or "Pokemon" as they call them, that they own. However, only slaves that could be stuffed into what they call "Pokeballs" count. Others were sent to Defect Trainers. I happened to be what they call a "Defect".

For some reason, they were saying that my body cell structure could not be properly compressed by regular Pokeballs... altought I doubted those things really worked. Basically, how is slamming a stupid ball into my forehead is going to trap me inside of it or not?... and what's the deal with trapping people anyway?

Well... anyway... the human promptly left. Looks like it only wanted to wake me up...

"Hey! So you're going to the Lab today? Heh! Sucks to be you!" said a rather harsh and deep voice behind me.

I turned around to face a yellow mouse with a long thunderbolt-shaped tail. One of it's eyes were missing and about half of it's teeth was gone. It's fur was awfully dirty and it was covered with scars of past battles and experiments.

That rat was none other than Derlank, the second oldest slave in this place next to me. Derlank had lived for a long time and altought, according to the humans, he hardly had a year left to live, he was still more energic than most slaves around here. In fact, altought he was rather harsh and just plain of a jerk sometime, he was one of the only people I could truly call "friend".

"Yeah, they're going to bash me with more balls, how fun." I said, sarcastically.

"Heh! Well, I hope for you that it won't last nearly as long as last time! Being a Defect is bad already without having to be slammed by those dumb Pokeballs... but well, I'm happy to be a Defect rather than one of those stinkin' Pokemon!" he stated.

Instantly, a small Minun stood up, upset. "Heh! I'd figure this out! You're just an old heartless fool! I want to have a Trainer! I want to be loved!"

Both I and ol' Derlank chuckled. To be loved? Must be one of those "wild Pokemon" that comes from time to time.

Throught the fifteen years I've been in this stinky pit, I learn that there existed three main types of slaves.

The first were the naive "wild Pokemon". Those creatures are used to hearing fairy tales about how Pokemon Trainers work and play with their Pokemon, considering them like friends and allies. Of course, this was complete rubbish. Such Pokemon Trainers are never respected and either turn out into "failures" which have only six Pokemon with them at most and love them, either they turn into "actual Pokemon Trainers" and start acting like jerks, like 99 of the other humans.

The second type acted more like Derlank and he liked to call this type the "realistic Pokemon". They were those who actually knew that the humans were nothing but big time meanies and accepted it. He knew that it was not his place to oppose humanity and all that it stands for... but that didn't kept him from hating them and if the opportunity presented itself, he would escape anyday!

The third type was what Derlank called "naive fools". Basically, the "naive fools" are what the "wild Pokemon" call "human minds trapped into Pokemon bodies". In short, people that thirsted for knowledge and freedom without any limit in their desires. Derlank says that I'm one of 'em... and that it's the very reason he likes me so much. Seeing someone who can keep his sanity and optimistic view of life in such a place is enough to make him a happy Pokemon... altought all I really had was just those dreams.

"What's so funny? I want to be loved!" said the Minun, almost crying.

Derlank smiled. "Hey! You know... you're not forced to be trained by a human for that to happen! Hehehehe!"

I knew what that smile meant. I slapped him. Not strong enough to really harm him but enough to remaind him what I tought of his... activities... regarding female newcomers.

"Hey! I know that you don't like it, psy kitty but that's one of my last pleasures in life, you know! Furthermore, I'll say that this female there is quite cute indeed..." he said, his smile widening.

Instantly, an expression of disgust was placed on the Minun's face.

"Don't joke, old rat! She isn't your type, really... and anyway, considering your age, you could be her father or even her grandfather!" I stated.

Derlank frowned. He hated to be remainded of his age...

"Hey! I still got a lot of energy to spare, ya know!... and you're not very well placed either! It will be fifteen years you'll be here tonight!... and according to what the humans said about you, you were about four years old when you arrived! According to MY calculations, we're the same age!" said the ederly yellow mouse.

"I know that! But my growth process is much slower than yours. I'll still be a young when your grand children will have lost their teeth, you know!" I replied.

"I know that!... but for now..." he couldn't complete his sentance.

He jumped away from me and hid in a corner, using the shadows to hide his presence from the Defect Trainer who had returned in the room.

The Minun jumped in front of the human and smiled, happily saying the name of her specie: "Minun!"

The Defect Trainer sighed and simply kicked the annoying animal out of it's way. Instantly, the Minun begun to cry, screaming in the Pokemon language how mean this human was and how she just wanted to be loved.

I stared at the young Pokemon... it was obviously young from how beautiful it's fur was and from how there were no scars at all on any of her body parts. I pitied her... she would soon realise what it meant to be a Defect... I only hoped that she would realise someday that it is much better than to be the tool of a Pokemon Trainer... or so Derlank used to say.

"Follow me!" ordered the man.

I followed the human out of the room and into the hall. The place was dark, like all of the entire building. Sunlight was rather rare in this stupid place and the light of the lamps encased in the ceiling was kinda weak... especially considering that many of those hadn't been repaired in years. The floors were like all of the rooms; dirty, dank. I had heard from Derlank that in places they call "Pokemon Centers", humans called "Janitors" have the duty of cleaning the place. Having some "janitors" would do a lot of good to this place if you ask me... as it stands, this place never gets cleaned.

Seeing as I had nothing better to do, I looked around, noticing that I was lucky for having a room. Most of the others were stuffed in small cages which themselves were stuffed on shelves all over the place. Only some special cases such as myself, Derlank, and obviously that newcomer, had the right to have an actual room. As I looked at the Defects within the cages, despair all over their faces, I suddenly felt lucky that I got a room for myself...

"We're here! Get inside!" ordered the man, pointing at a room labelled "Laboratory".

I hated this place more than any other place... it was there that those "scientists" jerks would inject all kinds of stuff in my body, make numerous cuts and look at my inside outs, or do "Pokeball testing"... which, in truth, only constisted of them hurling a flurry of hard and painful metal spheres at my face hoping that one of them would open and suck me inside.

So, I entered the accursed place and took the time to look around.

This place was probably the only clean place in the whole building. The walls were pure white and the floor was so clean you could see your reflection in it. As I gazed down at my reflection, I understood why people said I was a freak.

Altought the scientists said that I had fur, I never felt I had any fur at all. It was more like skin if you asked me... altought the top of my head did seem to have some unseen hair...

My figure was very similar to that of a human's... in the way that I stood on my hind legs in an upright position almost permanently. In fact, unlike most of the others, I couldn't stand on my four... too painful for my hands. Speaking of hands... my hands were quite... strange. They were almost identical to that of humans exept that I was missing two fingers. As for the arms themselves, they were so skinny you could see the nerves and veins throught the skin. Derlank claimed it was becease of the lack of food... but for some reason, I felt that the lack of food wasn't to blame. My shoulders was probably the reason why most newcomers tought I was wearing armor; the skin was extending in a triangular fashion, forming armored shoulder pads. My head itself was a mix between the head of a cat and a helmet... and it was definitely not beautiful. My large ears clashed with the look of my whole head. My legs, unlike my arms, were definitely large and strong-looking. My feet were oversized and it looked like the feet of a cat... altought Derlank preffered to say that they looked like clown shoes. My tail stood out. While all of my skin or fur, whatever you think, was pink... the lower part of my belly as well as my tail was purple. This made for an interesting color scheme... and as such, many had laughed at me becease of that. The detail that I hated the most however was that strange tube that was connecting the back of my head with my back. According to what the scientists had said, this tube allow my brain to have an extra flow of blood and thus, air, during extreme situations such as during battle or training. Maybe it was useful for such moments but still, it was ugly and it caused me to get stuck sometimes...

BAAAANG!

"MEAAAAAAAAAAAARRROOOW!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as I felt the cold steel slamming into the tip of my tail and almost crushing it.

"Geez! What a stupid creature!" said the man, opening the door, shoving the tail out of the way and then closing the door again.

The scientists, during this time, stared at me with a suspicious look... and then, the leader among them ordered me to enter the test zone within the room...

Then, as I stepped inside, I closed my eyes, knowing what was going to happen...

"Pokeball testing session will begin. We will begin by using the special new model we made using data from the Masterball and the data we obtained by analysing the subject's cell structure yesterday. Proceed."

I locked my own mind away, trying to find a way, any way, to escape the pain that was to follow... but I couldn't enter in a state of trance before the test actually begun.

Instantly, a sharp pain assaulted my senses as a purple and black Pokeball struck my nose, nearly breaking it. Then, a red and blue one was slammed right into my chest... and then, the rate at which the spheres slammed into me increased... increased... and soon, I felt as if a real storm of metal was ripping apart my body.

I felt the urge to cry for help... but it was useless. No one could help me, no one. I was trapped in a prison for Defects, away from the other humans, away from the Pokemon.

I felt as if my whole skeleton was crushed into dust and all my strenght left me. I collapsed and then, I hoped that the test would end there... and I was relieved when no other Pokeballs struck me. I hoped that they would not tie me to the wall to continue the test... They did that sometimes and personally, it was really, really bad when this happened...

A scientist entered the test area and touched my neck, seeking a pulse to see if I was still alive... and he had the confirmation that I still was.

I awaited... to see if the test was over... I hoped the pain would stop... that the test would end...

"He's still alive!" yelled the scientist to the others.

"Strap him to the wall. We're only ten percents throught." stated the leader of the scientists.

I felt the urge to cry... but I had neither the strenght or the will to do so. In the darkest corners of my mind, I suspected that those stupid humans enjoyed this display of cruelty... and as such, I had sweared never to satisfy them by giving them the pleasure of seeing my tears. Altought it had been incredibly hard... I had been able to keep the tears at bay for ten years now... altought I didn't knew how long I would last.

BLAAAM!

CLANG!

"Hey! You're alright?" asked Derlank, running to me and then helping me stand up after being thrown back into the room.

"Ugh..." I didn't even have the strenght to say a single word.

"Wha... What did they do to him?!?" asked the Minun, terrified by my look, obviously.

"Yeah! You're totally covered with wounds! Did they took samples or what?" the elderly rat asked.

"Po... ke... ball... Tess... ti... ing..." with much effort, I could formulate those words.

The Minun stood there, not believing this... "I cannot believe... that they could do this to anyone..."

"Oh! You better believe it!" stated Derlank. "Everyone goes throught this at least once. The stronger you are, the more often you suffer that. I go throught this once a week... but our dear friend goes throught this at least once a day!"

Minun's face became pale, learning that she would go throught this as well. "What?!? But this is... this is..."

Derlank laughed... altought his laugh wasn't sincere. "Hahahaha! Oh! Believe me, it's better than going throught what a trained Pokemon goes throught!"

The Minun was upset once again. She even seemed angered this time! "What do you know about trainers! You're a Defect, like the others! You know nothing of Pokemon Trainers! Nothing of the love they..."

Derlank's laugh, now sincere, masked the remaning of Minun's speech. "HAHAHA! GUWAHAHAHA! I didn't heard something so funny in a good while! You know, girl, I once was a so-called trained Pokemon! Before I got captured by Team Snatch, I was a normal Pikachu and you know what? I am THANKFUL that Team Snatch got me! They may have roughed me up a bit... but they undone all of the brainwashing the Pokemon Trainers did to me! They gave me back my free will! For that, I am thankful... altought they do are no better than the others!"

Minun's ears rose straight up and her eyes widened. "WHAT?!? Does this means that..."

Derlank smiled and opened his right hand. In the palm of his hand, a purple flame... "Yep! Dark Pokemon all the way!"

Minun's eyes shrunk as her heart was filled with sheer terror. She slowly backed to the wall...

"Hey! What's the big deal with the face? I still got my soul, ya know! Yep, my polarity isn't quite normal... but that does have the advantage of making me invulnerable to Pokeballs, which I like! Yep, they bombard me with those stinkin' balls during tests... but I don't mind since I have free will." said Derlank.

He slowly approached Minun, smiling. "Believe me, you're here for a reason! I bet that you must be a mutant, a genetically engineered Pokemon gone wrong, or a Dark Pokemon like me! So... what are you?"

Minun pointed to me. "And him... why is he here?" she asked, avoiding the question.

"Oh, him? He's really, really mysterious and strange... and mysterious... and strange... and really mysterious at that! Alos, very strange at that! and mysterious! and strange!" he said, grinning.

"Very funny!" said sarcastically Minun. "Just tell me why he's here."

I closed my eyes... I didn't really knew myself but I knew one of the reasons why... "I'm immune to Pokeballs and I have psychic powers." I said.

"And so what?" asked the female. "There's many psychic Pokemon around, you know!"

"That's becease you didn't seen my dear psy kitty in action, fair lady!" replied the old rat, smiling. "I seen him take down Pokemon four times his size with a single psychic blast! With enough pratice and some training, he could become worthy of being an Elite Four Pokemon, I tell you!"

Minun smiled. She doubted this! "Pah! If this kitty can beat up an Umbreon or a Houndoom, then I'll accept your "offer", mister cyclop!"

Derlank didn't found this funny at all. "Hey! It's not becease that accursed Scyzor extracted my right eye that I'm a cyclop!... and I can still see very well!"

Minun giggled. "Yeah right!"

I sat down and stared at the small Minun. She was young, innocent, full of energy... for I second, I envied her. She had no worries... she knew nothing of real pain.

I turned around, staring at the sole window in the room, from which a faint ray of sunlight came out... This was the only place where he had ever seen sunlight... from throught the window. He had tried to break the window many times but the three bars were made of a substance which was not affected by any of his powers. Derlank, him, had tried too... not to avail. The only thing the two had obtained from their attempts were kicks from the Defect Trainer. Still, Derlank still talks, sometimes, about the outside world being all green with large blue oceans, beautiful white cities, and with tons of healthy Pokemon and non-Pokemon Trainer humans walking around. He used to say that unlike Pokemon Trainers, normal humans cared for Pokemon. In fact, he used to say that he hoped to find out what was causing the humans to turn out so cruel when they become Pokemon Trainers... but since he was now quite old, it seemed like he would never find out...

Unlike him, I had never gone out of the building... or more exactely, I was captured too young to remember anything clearly. All I had from the outside world was mere dreams... and those dreams were my most precious possessions. I would have never survived without them... never. I would have never been able to keep my sanity without the feeling that sometime in the past, someone had loved me and maybe still does, awaiting my return...

"Pah! Dreams rarely come true if at all!... but well, between being a depressed fool who can't see any good and a depressed fool who can still see some good in the world, I prefer the later case so... do me a favor and stick to your dreams!" Derlank used to repeat me that.

When I think of it, Derlank was quite a bit more than a friend... he was more like a brother or even a father. He had teached me everything about this place and explained me why many of those things happened... and he wasn't afraid of admitting that he didn't knew everything. He knew that it was not his place to carry the entire world on his shoulders when he could barely keep his own mind in check.

I turned to Derlank and then tought of something... "Hey."

"What is it, kitty?" he asked.

"Do you think it would be possible to escape?" I asked.

Derlank smiled. "Escape? What kind of idea is that? Well... in the main arena, there is a ventilation vent which a small Pokemon could be able to use to access the control room and using the computer inside would be our most probable escape route but well, there are a lot of fans inside of that ventilation vent which would cut wide open anyone who got inside and anyway... I'm too large to fit in and you... well, considering you're several times my size, I won't even think about it."

I turned to Minun and smiled. "What?" she asked.

"Oh? Her? Well, she's the right size... but she doesn't look too bright. It's not like she can read and then use the computer in the control room to unlock the doors and deactivate the security systems! Believe me... I wouldn't give myself false hopes." he stated.

I smiled. She probably didn't knew but... he knew. "Well... maybe you could teach her?" I said.

Derlank raised an eyebrow. "Well, that would take time... and where will you find the materials to writte on..." he couldn't finish that I raised my right hand.

Instantly, letters formed in the air, in front of the old rat. Minun's eyes widened... "Wow! That's... amazing!" she said.

Derlank chuckled. "Well! Since you seem so determined... but it won't be easy! Learning a language takes lots of time... probably a little more than what's left for me to live!... but well, I think I can do this. There's still the problem of the fans in the ventilation vent..."

I smiled again. "I will use my powers to stop them, don't worry. She won't get hurt."

The elderly Pikachu begun to think... and then, he figured out that this was the first possible plan they had in years. Yes... maybe this could work.

"Alright... I'll probably regret this but well..." begun the Pikachu.

Minun walked to Derlank and sat in front of him.

"OK... listen carefully..." begun Derlank as I used my powers to create stuff which Derlank would use in his lessons.

Thus, we begun our new evasion plan...

I stared at the window, our only source of sunlight... I began to try and imagine what the outside world must look like...

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TO BE CONTINUED


	2. Chapter 1: Exposition to Death

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**REJECTED**

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**CHAPTER 1: EXPOSURE TO DEATH**

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Although every day was identical within this dirty pit that was our prison, now that we had a plan for escaping, everything felt different...

Our prison... Although I used to call this place my home, I have decided to stop calling it that. This place... is not my home. It is an abyss of pain and despair where the unwanted slaves are thrown away by the Pokemon Trainers. I refuse to continue to decay in this forsaken place... and although the plan is progressing slowly, it truly does progress...

Minun changed much during the two months she had passed with us. Surprisingly, I didn't seen the happiness and motivation disappear from her eyes as time passed, as she went to the lab as, just like us, suffered from the experiments.

On the opposite, the experiments motivated us to work even faster toward the completion of our goal. Minun tried her best, learning and remembering the serie of words that made up the human language... learning how to read, understand, and written them. Learning how to assemble entire sentences and disassemble them.

In fact, I was surprised at the rate which Minun learnt. It took me two entire years to learn the human language... and now, Minun does so in two months, more than twelve times less time than me.

I also begun to notice changes... changes in both I and Derlank. The old geezer didn't seem so old suddenly... he seemed to be able to bear with the pain much more easily and he, who used to laugh at people who publicly showed their emotions, begun to open his heart for I and Minun to see...

I figured out that Derlank now had three motivations to escape. He wanted to know what corrupted the hearts of humans turning into Pokemon trainers, he wanted to be free... and he wanted to impress Minun. Although he doesn't deny that he thinks that she's cute, he's sure denying the fact that his attraction for the female is now more than merely physical!

As for Minun... I just cannot figure it out. Is she amused, pleased, or is she kidding us all? Pokemon become mature fast but never truly grow old until the day Death visit them. Maybe it's because of the short life span of the Pokemon beside me...

This is one of the many mysteries about myself... the effect or rather, the lack of effect of time on me. Although I was nearing the deadly age, twenty, at which most Pokemon and Defects died... my body was still one of a two years-old, freshly adult subject. My aging process had somehow stopped... why? Why was I not aging while Derlank is?... this is a riddle I hope to solve someday.

Still... there were not only positive angles to the fact that our plan being prepared... As such, I knew that Death was swift to strike... especially in such a place.

Pokemon have short life spans... Defects, such as us, have even shorter life spans. We knew that a nasty attack during a battle, just one wound too many during an experiment, a nasty disease striking in the middle of the night... One of us could perish any day, any minute, any second... especially considering that today is a special day...

Tomorrow, a special match opposing us to another team of Defects is planned in the main arena... and it will be then that our plan will be put in action.

However, today, we have to battle a team that was assembled in order to push us to the limit by a Pokemon trainer... and this was really, really bad news.

Last time, one year ago, that Scizor extracted Derlank's eye from it's orbit. It was a disgusting, disgusting sight... and that Rhydon did a Drill Horn attack right in my chest. The attack had missed my heart from merely a few centimeters... and as such, I had passed really, really close to death. Still, I recovered... but unfortunately, Derlank never got his eye back.

Would Death claim one of us today? I hope not... It is the first time that our escape seems so probable, so imminent... Most definitely! I will NOT let Death interfere with our escape! It doesn't matter if we win or lose... what is important is our survival! We must survive to escape from this place tomorrow!

"Err... guys?" asked Minun, tilting her head to the left, wondering why both I and Derlank were silent... "What's wrong? You didn't spoke ever since this morning, when the Defect Trainer announced that we would have a Guest Match."

Derlank turned to me. "Tell her. You know I lack subtlety."

Minun raised an eyebrow. What did subtlety have to do with this? I frowned... I hated explaining such things... but well, someone had to explain to her.

"Minun... we are about to fight a team of trained Pokemon assembled specially to "push us to our limits"."

"And?" asked Minun. "That can't be much worse than when they took samples off me, right?"

A shiver went down my spine. The samples... they had taken nearly half of her flesh off her body. The nightmarish picture of her figure, open from every angle and emptied of all substance, staring at me, it's eyes filled with tears... It took a long, long time for her to recover... the first couple of days, even the Defect Trainer asked many times the scientists if it had been a little extreme and if she would live... but each time, the scientists told him it was OK... and she had been OK.

Well, if I look at the positive side... Minun didn't have to go through experiments and battles for a week and that left Derlank plenty of time to teach her about the human language.

Still, there was a major difference between the Guest Match and the time when they took samples of her... the experiment was almost a guaranteed survival case... while our survival chances for the Guest Match were rather low.

I could already imagine our opponents... tall, fully-evolved, and trained to the death soulless war machines that obey their trainers' every whim as if they were simple puppets...

The image of the Rhydon which almost pierced my heart was probably the most scary thing I had ever, ever seen... not because I got close to death... but because that I saw how empty the Rhydon's eyes were. He was... emptiness... He heard orders and executed, without question.

I remembered how that trained Electrode we fought died... for it did die.

Derlank and I, we had defended ourselves well against Scizor and Rhydon and the enemy wanted to get rid of us quickly... I knew it since the Pokemon trainer was thinking aloud, believing we were unable to understand human language. He said that he already had twelve Electrodes and that using one in this case wouldn't be such a big deal... and as such, he ordered the Electrode to use Self-Destruct.

The Electrode did not hesitate... it did not even asked itself the question if it was right or wrong to die for such a petty, meaningless battle against two tortured souls who simply wished to survive... The Electrode exploded in a hurricane of fire and wind. It's remains flied about and were consumed at the same time as our endurance. The wind of fire allowed the Scizor and the Rhydon to attack...

Just before being struck by the Rhydon, I caught a glimpse of the trainer's eyes... and they were cold, insensitive, heartless. There was no cruelty, no enjoyment... just pure cold logic. He was seeing Pokemon as mere tools and treated them as such...

... and after this, wild Pokemon still think that life as a trained Pokemon is a fairy tale? Our world is sure a strange one!

How could I explain all this to Minun? How could I explain the horrors she was about to witness?

"Minun..." I begun. "You will see how Pokemon trainers truly treat their Pokemon. You will see the cold, heartless logic of a being willing to sacrifice everything for a meaningless victory... including those who are supposed to be his friends."

Minun raised an eyebrow again. "Huh?"

Derlank stood up, annoyed. "You don't get it? We're going to die or they will!"

Minun smiled. "That's some kind of joke, right?"

Derlank smiled. It was the signal that he was about to say something sarcastic... "Heh! Sure! I bet that the Champion became a Pokemon master by coming up to Pokemon like us and offering us pretty flowers! I'm sure that he has respect for his opponent and will do everything to ensure a safe match that is perfectly following the rules!"

Minun frowned. She HATED it when Derlank spoke like that... and I admit it that while I'm used to it, I don't like it either.

"You know, not ALL Pokemon trainers are like that!" she stated.

"You know, girl, that reputation among humans is set by the number of slaves... OOPS! So sorry! Pokemon that they own! How many hearts and lives do you think those humans broke in order to gain such large collections? Plenty, I bet!" stated harshly Derlank.

"HMPH!" Minun turned her back to Derlank.

"Great, just great. When a gang of soulless war machines is about to attack, you two start fighting? How are we going to even live through that fight if you keep up like that?" I asked, worried.

They didn't have the time to answer, sadly enough...

CLANG!!!

It was that stupid Defect Trainer. "The Pokemon trainer is here! Come on! Come on! I don't have all day! Come with me!"

We followed the human...

Along the way to the arena, Pokemon jumped to the edge of their cages to stare at us. They all had learnt of the news... and then, dog Pokemon howled, cat Pokemon made a long, slow hiss, bird Pokemon sang a depressingly sad song...

"Errr... what are they doing?" asked Minun.

"All creatures, Pokemon and humans alike, support those who are marching to their deaths. They are supporting us, we who walk toward an uncertain death." stated Derlank.

"WHA... WHAT?!?" Minun was positively shocked!

"Heh! Don't worry! I and the psychic kitty survived through four of them! Why would it be different this time?" he asked.

Suddenly, the bird Pokemon's song became faster as if some of them were panicking. Some of the Pokemon screamed, others begun to cry...

"What the?!? What's happening?!?" asked Minun, all panicked.

I pointed to the two humans going in the opposite direction...

"They're... they're carrying..." slowly whispered Minun.

The two humans were carrying a large white bag. The bag wasn't really opaque and you could see what was within... but I instantly wished that it would have been possible upon seeing what was within.

It didn't mattered how many times I seen it... it always had the same effect on me... and seeing from how Minun's face turned pale and how Derlank frowned, they couldn't take it very well either.

Within the bag, the corpses of a child Rattata, an adult shiny Mareep, and a black and red Treecko were visible. The Rattata was seemingly in good shape and I wondered why it was inside the bag to begin with... until I noticed how odd what the angle at which his head was... and I realized that it's head had been ripped off, only a few bones connecting the head to the body. The shiny Mareep was barely recognizable. It's fur was almost completely burnt off and many limbs were cut off. A weird curve in the Pokemon's back suggested that the lethal strike was a crushing blow from above. The last Pokemon, a Treecko, wasn't in such a bad shape, like the Rattata was at first glance... but I noticed what was his last expression, which was forever stuck on his face. An expression of sheer terror and despair... as if gasping for air. There were many strange, long marks on it's body as if something cylindrical had squeezed on it's chest and neck with a lot of strength. Strange needles were visible all over it's side also.

"OH GREAT HO-OH!" screamed Minun, crying.

It was her first exposure to Death. She had never seen any Pokemon or human die before and let's just say that this was a very, very rough way of being introduced to it... although I believe that it did took a lot of time for Minun to be exposed to Death. It was only now, after months, that she saw her first corpses... Derlank and I seen them on a much, much more regular basis.

I tried to look away from the bodies of those poor Pokemon, trying to think of anything else... but all that came to me was that nightmare...

Sometimes, during the night, I had something else than my usual dreams... and although I would normally welcome the variety... I knew that it often meant that I would have nightmares... very bad ones.

In one of those nightmares, I could see my own body, trapped in one of those bags with which they carried the dead... I could see myself, the neck broken, the body covered with lethal wounds...

I tried to think of something else again. I looked to the side and gazed upon an adult female Radicate. She was staring at the Rattata within the bag, her eyes filled with tears as she slowly and rhythmically banged her head against the bars, as if her nerves had broke.

This Radicate... must have been the rodent's mother. I wondered... what did this child do to deserve such a fate? What did the mother did to deserve seeing her child die before she does? To grieve for the parents... is sadly, a normal and natural process... but not the parents having to burry their own children! A parent shouldn't normally outlive it's children...

As I turned to face Minun and Derlank, I couldn't do anything but fear for our safety. Minun was hysterical and Derlank was strangely silent, his eyes as wide as his cheeks... and I knew that if I could see my reflection, it would be very pale. We were all terrorized about the imminent fight... we knew that unlike the trained Pokemon we were about to face, there would be no one to take us out of battle should a lethal hit be imminent.

"Man! Those animals sure are noisy today!" said the first man carrying the white bag.

"Bah! They're always excited the day of the Guest Match. Ignore them." said the second man.

"Still... that's... creeoy. I knew that my job would include such a duty... but I didn't thought I'd have to do it with screaming Defects around!" said the first man, feeling a bit nervous from seeing all those Defects doing so much noise...

"You'll get used to it, don't worry." said the second man, who was obviously not minding the Defects at all.

Suddenly, the Defect Trainer turned around and stared at me. I frowned, knowing what was incoming...

BAAAAAAM!!!

"Come on, lazy animals!" said the human after punching me right on the nose. "Why did you slow down? I don't have all day!"

Minun and Derlank stared at each others... I looked at both of them... We all nodded. We knew that we had to bring ourselves together and to go over the shock of seeing those corpses.

"This is the last horror we'll get to see and experience. Tomorrow we're out of here." said Derlank.

"Ye... yes..." said Minun, struggling against her intense fear. "Giv... giving up now would be stupid..."

I simply nodded, not able to think of saying anything worthwhile. We turned to the Defect Trainer and walked forward...

Slowly, the two men carried the corpses away as we entered the arena... Normally, Derlank says sarcastic stuff before entering the arena... but today, he was not in the mood to say anything and no one was in the mood to listen to anything sarcastic either...

The arena was one of the few places which weren't totally disgusting in this building. While it wasn't clean like the laboratory, the artificial grass was in good condition and the walls were still in a good shape although, despite the staff's best efforts, they had been unable to repair every part of the walls and clean out them of all of the "natural red paint" that covered them as Derlank like to say it.

The mechanical door slowly closed itself and I stood, along with Minun and Derlank, in front of the Defect Trainer. In front of us, at the other edge of the arena, a human teenager wearing blue jeans and an official Pokemon League coat was staring at us... he was our grim reaper... the Pokemon trainer we would face in this Guest Match.

Minun turned to Derlank. "Why don't we escape now? I... I can't take this anymore..." she said, trembling.

"Security is at it's highest when Pokemon trainers arrive from the exterior." stated Derlank. "It would be unsafe to try it now. We'd better do it tomorrow, when there will be less security."

"This is a three against three team battle." announced the Defect Trainer. "I will use this Minun, this Pikachu, and the Unknown Subject for this match."

The Pokemon Trainer grinned and took out his pokedex. "Unknown Pokemon you say? Let's see what the Pokedex thinks about this!"

He pointed the red, thin object toward him and it begun to speak in a robotic voice... "Unknown Pokemon Subject. Held at Pallet Town Defect Center. Data on Pokemon classified until analysis was completed. Elemental Type appears to be mostly psychic... although until analysis is completed, this Type match up may not be 100 reliable. Pokemon is extremely unstable and may spontaneously attack humans without even noticing it. Exercise caution."

The Pokemon Trainer was obviously not satisfied by what his Pokedex told him. He placed it back in his pocket, frowning, and then took out three Pokeballs.

"Alright! Since I'm facing two Electric Pokemon and a Psychic Pokemon... I choose YOU!"

He thrown his Pokeballs. "GO! MIGHTYENA! GOLEM! MAROWAK!"

Before us, some kind of tall wolf, a big boulder with a limbs and a head, and a brown reptile wearing a skull helmet and carrying a large bone as if it was a boomerang...

Derlank turned to Minun. "Whatever the Defect Trainer says, listen to the orders that comes from your mind and feelings. Do not let that human boss you around."

Minun didn't answer...

I turned toward the foes... but I couldn't concentrate on them. All that I could see what the Pokemon Trainer... I stared into his eyes... he stared back...

"Mightyena! Crunch!" ordered the Pokemon Trainer.

It was too obvious that this attack was going my way... so, I closed my eyes and concentrated...

I had learnt the hard way, years ago, that psychic blasts does not work on enemies made of and/or using the Dark power... and as such, I developed other ways to defeat them.

I concentrated, trying to use the hidden power that the humans have been trying, ever since I can remember, to remove from me... and I felt it rising... but unfortunately, I was unable to sense my target... all I could sense was the Pokemon trainer.

In fact, he was appearing very clearly in my mind... and he was alone. Derlank, Minun, the Golem, the Mightyena... all of them were just... not here.

Then I knew what was wrong... and I heard a distant, very distant voice that sounded like Derlank...

"Ta... cov..." I couldn't hear all of it.

Then there was a deafening explosion and when I opened my eyes, the arena was ruined. The ground had cracked open, the walls had almost crumbled down, wires and metal frames from the various systems in the walls and ceiling were scattered everywhere... and the three enemy Pokemon stood there, leaning on the walls, their heads leaning at an angle of about 180 degrees... an impossible angle unless they were...

Derlank got out of the pile of rumble under which he had been buried and looked around at the carnage...

"Oh great Ho-oh..." he slowly whispered. "What have you done this time..."

I looked around... the Defect Trainer was cowering next to the door, his left leg twisted in an unnatural way. His clothes were covered with blood... his own. He was trembling and was staring at me, terrified.

"I... I thought that... that the Purification had been successful... but he's still a stinkin' Dark Pokemon!" he whispered...

I looked down... and noticed that there was no ground under me. I was floating above a large crater... and judging from the looks of things, I had used something really, really powerful. I also noticed that there were multiple cuts shaped like teeth on my body.

Then, I realized what had happened here...

"You... you used the Shadow Supernova? Again? Didn't you learnt your lesson already?!?" scolded Derlank. "They will lock you up for weeks! We won't be able to escape!"

I couldn't understand how and why it happened... "Shadow Supernova" was what everyone called what I did when I lost my temper... and by that, I mean when I turned really enraged! In all of my years, I had unleashed it only three times... two times before and now, a third time today.

What had caused me to unleash such destructive power? Why did I do this?... and now?

As I gazed at the corpses of the Pokemon that once belonged to the Pokemon trainer... I realized why.

I couldn't take it anymore... I had enough, enough with all of that. I couldn't bear the experiments, the Purification process, the torture when we do something that displease the humans, the rancid food, the disgusting state of our prison, the fact that we never ever saw sunlight except through the window of our room... I couldn't take any of this anymore!

I felt the rage rising... I felt everything turning dark again... That blood on my hands... it was the humans' fault! They rip apart my body and torture my soul and then, they demand that I obey them? They DARE to try to enslave me! I curse them! I curse this place! I wish that this whole place may be burnt down! That the lab may be nuked! That those halls may burn! That this arena may crumble! I will destroy everything!... and I will kill all of those heartless fools! I WILL...

"Calm down psi kitty." said an elderly voice.

Derlank? Is that Derlank?

"It isn't like you. Do not lower yourself to their level. Do not let your raw power and desires control you..." said Derlank.

I looked around... and I realized that it was not worth it. I was not powerful enough to do this... and even if I was, destroying this place will not give me back the time I lost in this forsaken pit. Also... thousands of Defects live in this place. They do not deserve to die... they do not deserve to be consumed by my fury during a moment of temporary insanity... I must control myself...

Slowly, I felt myself floating back to ground level and I landed. I turned to Derlank...

"I..."

Tears flowed out of my eyes as I realized the consequences of what I had done. I had caused this. I had destroyed this place, robbed three innocent Pokemon from their lives, and wasted our only opportunity for escape. After this incident, we would probably be placed in the high security zone...

"I... I..." I tried to say that I was sorry but my heart ached too much and my mouth couldn't move to formulate the words. My psychic powers were of no help for the emotional pain was too great...

Derlank simply approached me and put his hand on my shoulder. "Calm down, little kitty. Everyone's nerves breaks one day or another. There was nothing you could do..."

It was true. If it hadn't happened today... it would have happened later. Staying completely sane in such a place... is impossible.

Then, as the sadness left, a new pain replaced it. Worry...

"Derlank? Where is Minun?" I asked.

Derlank suddenly jumped away from me, panicked. "Dang! How could I forget about her!"

We both looked around... and both of our eyes widened in horror as we caught a glimpse of a small yellow object just behind the Pokemon trainer...

The human was standing there. He was covered with dust but just like Derlank, it looked like he was somewhat spared from my attack's deadly effects. The Pokemon trainer's face was awfully pale as he was staring at the yellow fur ball leaning on the wall...

Minun stood, upside-down, staring at us with a blank stare, her body facing the opposite way.

For a second, everything froze and I felt a cold wind pierce through my heart and extinguish all hopes, all dreams, all desires within me... I... I... had killed my friend... I had killed... our only chance for freedom.

Derlank jumped on the top of a nearby pile of rubble and screamed at the sky, through the ceiling.

"WHY?!? WHY GREAT HO-OH?!? WHY DO YOU REFUSE TO TAKE ME AWAY FROM THIS HELL HOLE?!? I AM OLD AND WITHERED! SHE DIDN'T DESERVE THIS!!!"

Derlank collapsed from exhaustion and sadness. I stared at my blood-stained hand... and although I knew that it was my own blood that was on it, I couldn't help but feel that Minun's was on it too...

I was... a murderer... and it was not the first time...

Charmander... Psyduck... Marill... Natu... Wingull... Skitty... all of them... had died from my own two hands... All of them were consumed by the power that sleeps within me... and now, that same power had taken Minun's life as well. Derlank was the only Defect I ever met that hadn't died because of me...

"What... kind of monster am I?" I asked to no one in particuliar...

"You're not a monster..." said a familiar voice...

I looked back at the place where Minun used to be... and my eyes widened. Minun was standing there, her neck totally broken and her head facing the wrong way... and still, she was alive?!? But... how?!?

CRRRRAAAACK!

I'll never forget this disgusting sound of bones being broken as Minun spun her head, replacing it back in the correct position...

Tears appeared in her eyes... "Do not grieve for me... for I was never alive to begin with. I was born dead."

She walked up to me and smiled sweetly. "That's why I am a Defect. Undead Pokemon does not fit in Pokeballs..."

Confusion replaced my sorrow... Minun... she was... No! It couldn't be! She is so full of energy, so full of life! How could she be...

"There is nothing to say... I will understand if you hate me..." she said.

Hate her? What kind of idea was this?!? Minun is and will always be my friend!

She turned to Derlank... "He is lucky for his body decays... someday, his soul will be free. I will never leave the material plane, never ever..."

I approached Derlank... "We should wake him. He must know... he thought you had... you had..."

Minun nodded. "I heard him. I was conscious when he jumped on top of that pile of rubbles and screamed."

As she approached Derlank, it's then that I noticed a detail I had failed to notice... Minun... wasn't breathing. In fact, there was no sound... she was not breathing and her heart wasn't beating either and yet... she stood before me. This felt... awkward... She shouldn't be alive... and yet, she was.

She slowly shaked Derlank. He whispered: "No... that's not right... I said to the left..."

It looks like Derlank was dreaming...

"I wonder what kind of dream is that!" I stated as Minun proceeded to shake him again.

"Oh... oh... yes... now you got it. Now that's right... hmm... Minun..." he whispered.

Minun frowned while I could hardly keep myself from laughing. It was too obvious as for what kind of dream Derlank was having...

Minun decided that a sharp kick would be better to wake him than shaking him... so, she turned around him, placed herself right in front of him and...

SPLAAAAAM!!!

I covered my eyes, not daring to look at the scene. Judging from the incredibly high-pitched scream Derlank let out when waking up, I figured out easily that Minun must have kicked him "where it counts". Poor ol' electric rat...

"AAAAAARG! Oh my... Why did you... OOOOOOW!!!" cried the elderly Pikachu.

"Serves you right, pervert! I thought you meant it when you made a scene atop that big rock! Pah! You stupid old geezer..." she harshly said.

Derlank stopped and stared at Minun, wide-eyed... and then, he smiled. "Heh! Must still be my dream! I saw you dead! Now come over here my..."

SLAP!

Minun slapped Derlank with all of her strength!

"Ow! This hurts you bi..." Derlank stopped right in the middle of his sentence. "This hurts? Wait a minute! A dream cannot hurt so... Minun?!? YOU'RE ALIVE?!?"

"Of course I am you dummy! If you could just shut up for a second and keep your "thing" where it belongs for a minute, I'll explain everything!" she almost yelled. Obviously, she was NOT happy!

Derlank frowned and sat down. "Alright... As I already explained to the kitty, I was born dead and thus, cannot die a second time. That's all."

"How can this be? I mean... if you were born dead, how can you be alive right now?" the old rat asked.

"Well... I don't know. I just am." she replied.

We all stood there, staring at each others... and then, we all felt a harsh, very harsh pain... and we all collapsed. We were used to this. Since Pokeballs doesn't work on Defects, Defect Trainers use special chemicals to put them to sleep and then carry them back to their cages or rooms... and this meant that we had received an injection of those nasty chemicals from our Defect Trainer...

Thus, my vision faded... All that I hoped was that I would not awaken in a high security zone, separated from the others...

As the Darkness came to me, I welcomed it and soon, all of my thoughts were emptied from my mind and I fell into a state of deep, unconscious sleep...

**

* * *

**

TO BE CONTINUED


	3. Chapter 2: Purification Denied

**OFF**: Next chapter posted. Please note that this chapter was writen many months ago so it's may contain many spelling mistakes. Still, hopefully, it should be possible to understand it.

I'll post the next chapters (there's a lot of them) at a constant rate until this fic is up to date.

* * *

**REJECTED**

* * *

**CHAPTER 2: PURIFICATION DENIED**

* * *

When I awoke, there was nothing... nothing but darkness and I instantly felt the cold steel... and I knew that my fears had came true. I could not hear or see anything... but I could feel the shackles that kept me bound to the cold, hard wall...

Unlike the old room, there was no window here... and judging from the lack of the slightest breeze, there was no opening. I was completely trapped... and altought I was chained to the wall, the humans had probably taken no chance and sealed the room.

However, there were no needs for any shackles, for any walls... for I was trapped within my own mind. I had failed everyone... miserably. I was now in the high-security prison and as such, since Derlank would never leave without me, I had caused our escape plan to be nothing more than what it had always been... a fleeting dream.

We were trapped and we would remain so for a whole month... and I do not know where that old rat and Minun are. I am alone... and it doesn't matter. I'm always like that... I bring about chaos and destruction... for I have "It".

Still, Derlank has "It" too and he can control it!... why can't I? What is wrong with me? Why is the Darkness controlling me unstead of having myself control it? Derlank can shape and reshape the Dark Flames to his will, concentrating the Darkness into specific shapes and forms... but I cannot. Unlike him, the Dark Power only rise when one of my feelings grow extreme and then... terrible things happen.

Was there a point to it all? Was there a point to this destruction I was causing?

CLANG!

The room was suddenly filled with light as the Defect Trainer entered. Still, there was nothing to see. Dull, rusted grey steel was on the floor, walls, and ceilings... and nothing else. As for the size of the room... I was surprised I could fit in it so well considering it's size.

"It seems to have awakened." said the human to the shadow behind him.

"Well... Let us try again then." replied the shadow. Judging from the voice, it was one of those cursed scientists.

The scientist approached, carrying a needle of some sort. I knew what this was... and altought I knew it would bring me nothing but pain, it was in my interest to fool them into thinking that the mind-control toxin was effective.

FLIIIIISCH!!

My eyes widened as I felt the needle pierce throught the left vein in my neck. I felt every nerve in my body burn and I felt... I felt... the pain was too great to describe. It felt... horrible. I felt all strenght leave me and I had the urge to scream... but I did not. The pain was too much for me to make even a single move...

"Man! Why is he so tense? It's... creepy." said the Defect Trainer.

As much as I wanted not to cry... not to submit to those humans... the pain got the best out of me and I relaxed and all of the sadness and despair I had kept in my heart for so long was released. Without being able to control myself, I begun to sob... and the sobs only got louder and faster as the toxin invaded my bloodstream, setting my entire nervous system ablaze.

The scientist took out the needle out of my neck. He stared at it and noticed how it was covered with blood...

"I must have made the injection at a wrong angle..." he whispered to himself.

The Defect Trainer came to me and placed his right hand on my shoulder in a compassionate way. Normally, I'd feel insulted from having a human try to calm me down like they try to calm common mindless animal-type wild Pokemon... but the combined physical pain and emotionnal depression was more than enough to break my mental resistance and caused me to welcome the gesture with open arms.

"Calm down... calm down..." said the Defect Trainer...

It doesn't matter if one doesn't truly love you for when one is in the deepest abysses of despair... even the most inept and fake gesture of compassion will feel like a gift from Ho-oh himself. His words and the warmth of his hand calmed the emotionnal storm within my heart and allowed my mind to reform and take ahold of the physical pain.

I stared at the Defect Trainer, no longer crying and struggling against the pain so that I wouldn't fall into such a vulnerable state again. I felt so ashamed by my moment of weakness... I had emotionnaly welcomed a being who did not care for me, who only wanted me to his slave. I had acted like the animal this human believed me to be.

CLACK! CLACK!

The shackles that bound me were removed and then, the humans walked back to the door.

"Follow me." ordered the human.

My legs were shaking, my vision was blurry, I felt like collapsing in tears again as the pain was once again getting the upper hand on my reason... but I gathered my strenght and attempted to step foward.

My right foot... it was so... heavy... As I rose it above the ground, it felt as if thousands of Snorlaxes were sleeping on top of it... I was shaking so hard I wondered if my nerves had broke down... I tried to move the foot foward... so... hard... so... heavy... I knew I wouldn't be able to do it physically.

I tried to concentrate on myself... Clear your mind... such pain... ignore it... Brain... surging with signals from all over the body... Lungs are burning... heart is ripping apart... I must numb... the signals... But the signals are so strong and come from everywhere at once... My mind must... triumph... over the matter... of my BODY!

My eyes glowed blue and I could make the step foward... but instantly, I felt my strenght leaving and I fell down. I landed right on my nose... but I didn't felt pain from falling down. I was already at my limit point and I knew for sure that it was impossible for me to feel extra pain.

I hoped to lose consciousness... to have the cold sleep carry my mind away from this place... or at least, carry my soul to the depths of the Darkness, where pain wouldn't reach me until my body was freed of that vile poison the humans injected into my body... but the cold sleep did not came, not this time.

"I think you REALLY missed when you made that injection!" said the Defect Trainer, a bit panicked!

"That bleeding seems pretty consistant! Bring the medic team! We cannot afford to lose the subject!" said the scientist.

My vision was now blurred beyond recognition and finally, I felt as if the pain was numbed down... For a second, I tought that I had succeeded at overcoming my physical pain... then, several humans came and I felt as if I was lifted and carried away... but unfortunately, my vision was so bad that I couldn't see where they were carrying me...

"Man! Look at him! I never seen a Defect so tense!" said a voice.

"His tension is too high! He gonna have a heart attack!" said another one, panicked.

"It's the serum! That serum is causing a reaction in his nervous system!" said yet another one!

Way to go! You only figure it out NOW, after seven years? Sheesh!... but then, those toughts were promply expelled from my mind as... AAAAAAAARG!! OH GREAT HO-OH!! WHAT... THE... HAPPENED?!

"NO! He's having a heart attack!" yelled a voice which I barely heard.

"Man! Why is the lab so far?!" panicked another one.

My.. my... mind broke... ag... again un... under the effect of... of the... the... pain... Unable to... t... to... cont... t... trol mys... s... self... I begun to sob... it... it was hurting so... much...

BAM!

"Finally! We're here! Connect him! QUICKLY!" screamed a voice.

FLATCH!

I felt... something... enter... ring... my body...

BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!

"His heart is going on too fast! It's gonna explode!" yelled a voice.

"We're gonna lose him!" screamed another.

"NO! We cannot afford to lose the subject! Lower his tension! At all cost!" said the only voice that seemed calm.

"Pre... preparing the injection!" said a voice.

"I saw Defects dying before... but never like this..." said a rather depressed sounding voice.

"What kind of Defect Trainer are you?! You should have seen signs that the toxin was having this kind of effect before!" screamed a really, REALLY angry voice!

"OH MY..." screamed the same voice that was preparing the injection.

"The vein in which the injection was done... EXPLODED?!" yelled yet another voice.

"It's that gn serum! Get it out of his body!" ordered the calm voice.

"It takes a full day for the serum to be diluted!" said another voice.

"I don't fg care! Cut his veins wide open!" ordered the calm voice.

"But... he's gonna die!" said another voice.

"We need to get his tension down and that serum out! We'll do both at once! He's gonna die anyway if we don't try anything!" said the calm voice.

BLAAAAM!!

Then, I heard a sound from within... an explosion?

I felt all the pain disapppear, as if completely destroyed by the explosion... and then, I wondered if the humans had succeeded... but then, I felt as if I was lying in a pool of water... and I begun to suspect what had happened...

The voices faded and slowly my vision disappeared. The Darkness did not replace my vision, unlike before... no... my vision just... disappeared. It was really... weird... and then, the pain disappearing like this... I had never felt like this before.

It was... becoming hard to breath... but strangely enough, that was not bothering me... not anymore... and I felt like a cloud of emptiness rising within me and clouding my memories.

Then, I realised it... I was dying. They had failed. I had a final heart attack and with my heart completely stopped, it was only a matter of time before my brain would use up the last ounces of oxygen left in my bloodstream.

My eyelids felt so heavy... and I felt so tired... so I closed them and then, a kind of sleep like which I had never, ever felt begun to rise... Then, I begun to think that all of this was quite ironic.

So... in the end, I do escape the next day after the Guest Match... yes... I do escape... altought I never suspected it might have happened like this.

For a second, I felt guilty for giving in so easily, to accept death so easily... but then, did I had any reason not to? For so many long years, all I ever knew was pain, sorrow, anger, and despair...

My dreams kept me alive for so many years... they gave me hope but they remained only that; dreams... and one cannot live only from dreams. I needed a reality... and that reality had forsaken me.

Then, I had hope... hope that I would escape... but then, it was impossible. This abyss was well-designed. No matter how strong I tought I was... I was too important to the humans, too precious for them to let me go. I ignored the proofs for years... but the event that happened yesterday couldn't be ignored. There was no going out. Either I became a slave of humanity, either I died...

I had nothing to hope for, nothing to return to, no loved one to await my return... Derlank? He is old... I know he won't last... in a few months at best, he will join me... Minun? She was never alive to begin with... she is a walking dead...

Maybe death wasn't so bad. After-life or not, it didn't mattered. Even a lack of existance was better than this hellish life. Heck! I bet that even Hell itself is better than this place! Wherever I go, may it be to the Emptiness or to the After-life... I welcome it. Finally... the suffering comes at an end...

The sleep came to reclaim my soul... and I instantly gave in. After such suffering, the end of my life came out as a breath of fresh air, a liberation.

Such irony... the ONLY good side to my life, when you think about it, was, in the end, that it eventually ended... such irony...

There was a blinding light... so bright I couldn't see... everywhere, blinding light.

Was this the famous tunnel humans, Pokemon, and Defects alike spoke of? The tunnel that lead to the end of existance or the After-life?

But then, I recognised something in the light... I felt as if I could see two figures... one male, the other female... and I could recognise both of them despite the fact that I couldn't truly see them.

* * *

I couldn't make any details... but for some reason, I felt I knew them... in fact, I felt as if those were the same figures that haunted my dreams... and I felt a part of their feelings.

For some reason, as happy as they were in my dreams, they were sad in the tunnel... sad... from seeing me. But... why? Why such sadness?

FLASH!!

The tunnel faded and I awoke.

I opened my eyes and stared at the surroundings. I was in another room of the Defect Center... which meant that...

I stared at my hand... and it was still there. I touched my own chest, then my face, then my tail, then my feet... they all seemed material. A single claw came out of one of the fingers on my right hand and I scratched my left hand...

OUCH!! It hurts!... which means that I'm still alive.

I sighed, disappointed. Well... the suffering continues then...

"What's with the long face?" asked a familiar voice.

I turned to see Derlank, sitting next to Minun. Minun was still not breathing... and her heart wasn't beating either... which creeped me out a bit but not as much as before, strangely enough. I felt as if my near-death experience had made her look more... normal... more... alive... or maybe it was just her who was recovering from her fatal experience yesterday?

"You know, an anwser would be nice!" said the old rat, frowning.

"Well... nevermind. Tought I would... escape..." I said.

For some reason, I felt that Derlank understood what I meant about... and it didn't pleased him! "Oh no! You were NOT thinking of escaping THAT way, don't you? You're the last person I know who would have such toughts! Believe me! If you're having such toughts... then you can be sure you'll be the one matin' with our good ol' cute undead girl!"

Minun turned to Derlank and slapped him with all of her strenght!

"Heh! Breathing or not... she's as energic as ever! Hehehe!" he grinned despite the fact that he had been slapped quite hard.

I begun to look around... and I recognised this place. The strong lamps on the high ceiling, the trees and plants around... the strange altar in the middle... Yep, it was that stupid Celebi Shrine place... which meant that the humans would attempt to Purify us all... again.

"Tell me... how long was I unconscious?" I asked.

"Well... you were unconscious a full week. I was so worried..." Minun begun to cry... but without her body working, there was no tears coming out of her eyes. This felt weird... she was crying but there were absolutely no tears...

"Oh! Cheer up! It takes more than this to kill our dear psi kitty!" said Derlank, laughing.

Minun stared at Derlank with a murderous look...

Then, humans entered the shrine.

A Pokemon trainer and his six Pokemon as well as the Defect Trainer and some scientists arrived. The Defect Trainer and the scientists positionned themselves far from us and took out analysis tools while the Pokemon trainer and his Pokemon formed a circle around us.

"My Pokemon are in position! Ready to remove the Darkness trapping their hearts!" stated the Pokemon trainer.

Derlank turned to me, chuckling. "Hehehehe! Those stupid humans! When will they learn that not all Dark Pokemon had their souls sealed? After all, I'm a Dark Pokemon from my full free will!"

I stared at the Pokemon... maybe Derlank was... but not I. To him, the Dark Power was a gift, an extra power, an attribute that made him different from the norm... but not for me. Unlike him, I wanted the Purification to succeed. I wanted to get rid of that stupid destructive power that keeps on killing my friends and destroying my dreams!

As for Minun... well, the humans should have analysed her better! Humans are know to confuse undead for Dark Pokemon... but while both lack the Inner Light of regular Pokemon and Defects, there is still the fact that undead usually do NOT have the Dark Power!

As the six Pokemon surrounded us were encased in bubbles of holy light, I felt the purifying power being summoned...

"Bah! Just close your eyes and ignore them as always, isn't ol' kitty? Huh? Kitty? KITTY?!" Derlank gasped as he stared at me... but I was no longer staring at me.

I was staring at the light that was coming from the ceiling... or rather from the portal in the ceiling. The holy light was here... the purifying power was here... I could feel it call to me and Derlank...

I stood up and stared at the circle of light... the humans leaned foward, in interest. Was the Purification FINALLY going to work?

As the holy light grew even more intense, I stepped in the middle of the altar, bathing into the light.

"NO! DON'T!" yelled Derlank. Minun, her, stared at me, eyes widened...

"Rid me of that dark curse! I don't care whatever happens! Just take away that evil stuff from me!" I tought as I closed my eyes and waited for the light to erase the Darkness that haunted the depths of my heart...

...and then, there was a bright flash and the Purification ritual was completed.

"Alright! RETURN!" yelled the Pokemon trainer as he called his Pokemon back into their pokeballs now that the ritual was completed.

"Well... it looks like the ritual failed on the Pikachu, as always..." stated the Defect Trainer, noticing that the Pikachu hadn't changed.

"Maybe... but the Unknow Subject..." said one of the scientists.

"Are you... feeling alright?" asked Derlank, unsure of how I felt for some reason.

I felt good... better than I had ever felt. I felt... different. Finally, the curse was gone. Sure I would never be able to use those Shadow attacks ever again... but who cares? I would never harm anyone by accident ever again...

"He looks kinda brighter." said the Pokemon trainer.

I turned to Derlank and tried to smile... but suddenly, I felt as if something was burning within me. I grasped my chest as an intense pain seemingly ripped me apart from within.

"AAAAAAAAAARG!" I could do nothing but scream as an unknow surge ripped me apart...

...and then, I closed my eyes, not sure what to espect... and I felt... dirty...

When I opened my eyes again, the humans all seemed disappointed... and I knew why. The Light was gone, completely driven out by my Inner Darkness. Why? Why wouldn't it leave? Why would it continue to make my life miserable?

"Oh you! YOU!" said Minun angrily, pointing at me. "NEVER do that again! You hear me? NEVER!"

I frowned. Yes... I would not try this again. It didn't mattered if it was I or the humans that wanted it... for the Darkness had chosen. I was cursed with eternal Dark Power... and until the day of my death, it would always, always remain. Truly, Fate was cruel toward me. I imagined Ho-oh, flying above the Defect Center and laughing at me as he denied the Light to me...

The Defect Trainer walked to us and we all knew that he would bring us back to our rooms... or maybe not.

"The Minun and the Subject, come with me. Pikachu, stay." said the human.

I figured out they wanted to study Derlank a bit longer or something...

"Wish me luck!" said Derlank as we left the shrine.

"I wish you anything but luck!" I replied, grinning. Derlank smiled back. An inside joke between us...

With that said, the Defect Trainer led us back to our old room much to my relief. I tought I was gonna return to the high-security room for a while.

As I sat down in the room, it suddenly, didn't felt as filthy as before. More than ever, I liked the rays of light that came from the window and the fact that this room wasn't cramped, despite it's disgusting floor.

CLANG!

The door closed and I was alone with Minun. I sat down in a corner and begun to imagine Derlank, being tortured in the lab by those cruel scientists as I stood there...

"Kitty?" asked Minun.

I was suddenly forced out of my toughts by the yellow and blue female mouse. The way she stared at me... that was rather strange. In all the months she remained, I only remember her staring at me like that about a dozen of times...

"Kitty musn't be your real name. You must have a name, don't you?" she asked.

I looked down. It was true... I had a name of my own... a name which I hadn't used in so many years... a name which I remembered having obtained before coming to the Defect Center and since all that I could remember of my life was the Defect Center... this meant that this name was the sole link, along with my dreams, to my origin... for while I often felt as if I was born and would always remain in this place, I knew that I came from another place... a place which was very different from this pit.

I looked at the mouse and wondered... should I tell her my name?... No... no need to tell her my real name. I'll make something up...

"My name is... Meltow." I anwsered.

Minun smiled. "Meltow? That's... original. Much more original than mine, that's for sure!"

I raised an eyebrow. Minun wasn't her real name? Seeing how she giggled as she saw my reaction, she guessed what I tought...

"Oh no! Minun is not my name... it's merely the name of my specie. My name is Cherlie. I was named like that becease that it sounds a bit like "cheerleader". After all, the Minun and Plusle are know as the "pompom girls" Pokemon!" she said.

Cherlie? Actually, that wasn't that bad of a name.

"You know... it doesn't sound that bad. My name may be original... but I believe yours sound better, personally." I said.

Cherlie seemed surprised for a second, her ears rising straight up and all... but then, she giggled a bit and blushed... and she stood in front of me, standing and staring at me as if she tried to look innocent...

"Meltow? I always wondered... with all those years of yours, you must have probably met with a female of your kind and... well..." she winked and then giggled like a teenager.

As I stared at her, I begun to notice some stuff I hadn't noticed before... probably becease I had never paid attention. I knew that Cherlie was quite young when she arrived... but I didn't knew how young she was. However, as I stared at her now, I came at the conclusion that she must be a freshly adult Minun... and as such, she has all her life in front of her... well... if you can call what awaits her in this strinky pit a life.

As for myself... well... I was not especting such a question. Well... since the life span of Pokemon and Defects is quite short, our reproduction instincts are quite strong and at the age of about ten years, almost every Pokemon and Defect that isn't the lowest-ranked member of a pack or society has mated at least once... and I stood as one of the rare exeptions.

Maybe it was becease of how quiet and sensitive I was... or maybe it was becease I was quite tall and pink... but no female was interested in me. As for meeting females of my own specie... in fact, I never even heard of someone of my own specie. It looks like I am definitely unique after all... As for mating with Defects of other species... well, this would be possible... maybe... if the females were interested. It was a sad fact... but becease of our reproduction instincts, males and females disregard love as nothing more than an hinderance and as such, males and females meet with each others, mate, and then leave each others... even worse, often, the female will gain an instinctive grudge against the male with whom she mated. Probably an instinct that was there to warrant genetical diversity by forcing Pokemon and Defects never to mate the same being of the opposite gender again...

However, to myself, those facts were pretty... cruel. Humans had none of these problems. Their reproduction instincts weren't in the way and many, if not most humans could live with the same partner for their entire life, forming a family. This is something that not many Pokemon and Defects achieved... as for myself... I was strangely enough, spared from those instincts and altought I DO have a few reproductive instincts of my own... they are closer to that of a human to that of a normal Pokemon or Defect. As such, I could never bring myself to mate with a female without knowing them... and by the time we know each others, they already found a partner... and furthermor, the instinctive grudge always scared me... Mating a female only to have her hate me for life becease of it is not my idea of fun... especially since, unlike Derlank, I would prefer a lasting emotionnal love to a physical passion that barely last two days.

"Meltow?" she asked again.

I stared at her... and wondered if I should tell her.

"Mating isn't part of my instinctive behaviour... well, not in the way you're thinking." I stated.

Obviously, this anwser confused her. "Huh?"

"I do not only thirst for knowledge and hapiness like a human, Cherlie... I cannot mate unless I have a feeling of love mixed in... just like normal humans." I explained.

"Heeheehee!" she gigled. "Well! Are you SURE you are a Defect? You act like a human, you thirst for knowledge like a human, you feel like a human, you think like a human... you even dream like a human, with colors and all! You sound more like a human stuck in a Defect body than a real Defect, to me!"

"You won't be the first to tell me that..." I slowly mumbled to myself.

I had never understood it... why wild Pokemon despised human traits so much. They want to be caught and "loved"... and yet, they hate everything related to humanity? Cherlie was an exeption... for almost every wild Pokemon that had arrived in the past had grown to despise me upon when knowing me. Almost all of my friends were ex-Pokemon or wild Defects.

Cherlie kept on staring at me... what did she wanted? First, she wants to know my name and then, she asks me if I mated before? Then, she goes around and...

"Meltow... you were unconscious for a full week... and as I already told you... I was really, really worried." she said, staring at me in a strange way...

She got closer... "All those I've know have died... I seen all of them vanish, one after another... Promise me... that you will not leave me."

"What kind of promise is that? It's not like I'm going to run away or teleport away anytime soon!" I said, smiling.

She kept on staring... and then, I stopped smiling upon seeing how distressed she was.

"Meltow... I will be frank to you... I... I am not quite what I look like. While I may appear young to you... I am quite older than even Derlank and you are." she said.

"Really? Then why don't you look old, then? You seem young than both I and Derlank!" I stated.

"The dead... does not age." she stated.

I realised it... it must be true. It IS possible that she could be older than me! After all... she is an undead and the undead never die...

"Tell me... how old are you?" I asked.

Cherlie closed her eyes... "21 years-old. A full year past the limit. I seen all my parents, my brothers and sisters, my pack... I outlived everyone... and while they all grew old, I would forever stay a freshly adult Minun..."

She opened her eyes and stared into my own. "I asked you to promise me becease that time does not seem to affect you... or at least, not nearly as much as it affects regular Defects. Will... you remain?"

"Cherlie... I will not be going anywhere. We are friends and you know it. I will never let a friend behind..." I stated.

The yellow and blue mouse stepped away from me... "Friends... This is how you see me..."

She turned toward the window, her look distant for some reason... and then, she turned back to me, staring at me with her usual, cheerful look.

"Well! You made a promise... be sure to respect the promise you made!" she remainded.

"I will not forget. Do not worry." I told her.

CLANG!

Derlank was thrown back into the room. He wasn't beat up too badly apparently...

The Defect Trainer pointed me... "Come on! The scientists wants to do a full analyse on you! They worry why the Purification failed... and there's not two thousands of finding out why it failed!"

I followed the Defect Trainer, knowing the the analysis would probably involve many tests involing injecting powerful poisons in my body and would also involve taking tissue samples off me... Looks like I will suffer some more... but well, I once again have a reason to not let the torture push me over the edge and into insanity... for I believe that Cherlie may have an interesting backstory after all...

Huh? What am I thinking about? Why am I wondering about where Cherlie came from? I, Cherlie, and Derlank are all alive and well!... well, in a relative way! We will have to think of a new escape plan!... we must...

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


End file.
